Sciuto & Moro is a recently established cryptic genus of cyanobacteria separated from the morphologically close due to clear differences in the 16S rRNA gene sequence and the 16S-23S ITS region secondary structure. Conducting research on biological soil crusts in coastal ecotopes of Ukraine and Germany, we repeatedly observed thin filamentous cyanobacteria morphologically corresponding to the common terrestrial species (Elenkin) Anagnostidis & Komárek. Molecular data based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison of the original strains of the morphospecies indicated unambiguous assignment to the genus . Based on this finding, we proposed the new nomenclatural combination (Elenkin) O.M. Vynogr. & Mikhailyuk in our previous publication. Deeper molecular study of the four original strains which were morphologically identified as . based on the 16S rRNA gene concatenated with the 16S-23S ITS region and 16S-23S ITS secondary structure analysis showed that they are not identical. Three of them (isolated from biocrusts of Black Sea coast and forest path near Kyiv, Ukraine) had high similarity both in 16S rRNA (99.7-100%) and 16S-23S ITS (99.8-100%) hence actually representing . . The strain Us-6-3 isolated from biocrusts on sand dunes of Usedom Island in the Baltic Sea, Germany, differs both from original strains of . and all published species in 16S rRNA gene sequence identity, as well as in sequence and structure of the 16S-23S ITS region. Here we describe . and give an expanded description of . based on morphological and molecular features. A tabular review of species with data on their phenotypic and genotypic features, ecology and distribution is included.

Representatives of the Gomontiellaceae (Oscillatoriales) are rare and hence unstudied cyanobacteria with unusual morphology, distributed in terrestrial and aquatic habitats all over the world. Investigation of the group based on an integrative approach is only beginning, and to understand the actual biodiversity and ecology, a greater number of cultivated strains is necessary. However, some ecological traits of these cyanobacteria (e.g. low population densities, the absence of conspicuous growth in nature) led to methodological difficulties during isolation in culture. One species in the family Gomontiellaceae, Fritsch et John, is characterized by prominent wide and flattened trichomes, and represented by the non-authentic strain SAG 34.87. Detailed previous investigation of this strain clearly showed its morphological discrepancy with the original description of and the genus in general. The new isolate from maritime sand dunes of the Baltic Sea coast (Germany), however, revealed morphological characters completely corresponding with the diagnosis of . Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA sequences indicated a position of the new strain inside Gomontiellaceae. Both morphology and ultrastructure of the strain are congruous with characters of the family. Epitypification and emendation of are proposed since the ecology and habitat of the original strain are congruent with the type locality of this rare species (sand, Irish Sea coast, North Wales, UK). We expanded the description of by details of the filament development and specified dimensional ranges for trichomes and cells, as well as by new data about the transversely striated structure of mucilaginous sheath.

(Asteraceae) is an intricate polyploid complex distributed in the European Alps (di-, tetra- and hexaploids) and Carpathians (hexaploids only). Molecular genetic, ecological, and crossing data allowed four evolutionary groups within to be identified. Here, we establish that these four groups (two vicariant diploid lineages, tetraploids and hexaploids) are also morphologically differentiated. As a consequence, we draw taxonomic conclusions by characterizing four species, including the more narrowly circumscribed (lectotypified here), the taxonomically elevated comb. nov. (lectotypified here), and the two newly described species and .

We report on the occurrence of in the Alpet Shqiptare (Prokletije, Albanian Alps) mountain range in northern Albania (Balkan Peninsula). The species was previously known only from eastern-most Europe (Volga-Kama River in Russia), more than 2500 km away, and from adjacent Siberia and Central Asia. We used morphological evidence as well as nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences to show that the Albanian population indeed belongs to and that its closest relative is the European , but not as assumed in the past. Both and parasitize Ranunculaceae ( spp. and , respectively). We provide an identification key and a taxonomic treatment for , and suggest the IUCN category CE (critically endangered) for the highly disjunct Albanian population.